"Splosh!" The sound of water splashing echoed through the sewer.
A few sanitation workers stopped, confused.
What kind of trash had fallen into the underground river this time?
From the sound, it seemed pretty big!
The workers, holding their cleaning tools, cautiously moved closer.
In the dim light of the underground sewer, a mass of scarlet flesh stirred, and suddenly eight thick scarlet tentacles shot out.
The tentacles had rings of teeth at their tips, and they latched onto the workers' noses. Tiny blood vessels pierced into their skulls.
In an instant, the sanitation workers turned into dried-up corpses.
All that was left in the sewer were some scattered cleaning tools.
The enclosed space still echoed faintly with their earlier talk about blind dates.
But the man who had been thinking about his plain-looking but super gentle fiancée was gone.
After finishing a fresh power boost, Bertram confidently dialed a number.
"Hey, I'm free this afternoon. Want to spar?" Bertram asked.
"Sure, I'll meet you at the usual place," came the cool voice of the mysterious girl on the other end.
With the plan set, Bertram hung up.
He thought about his current powers: F+ level martial arts, F level Silver Thread ability, and seven strands of sword energy stored in his virtual valley.
Bertram didn't plan on using the sword energy. That skill was better saved for secret, serious situations.
After getting ready, Bertram headed to Chaoyang Martial Arts School.
It was the same familiar training ground, with its dull gray marble floor shining under the bright sunlight. In the golden glow, the mysterious girl appeared, wearing a white training outfit and a white dog mask, walking slowly toward him.
This time, Bertram arrived first and took his stance.
"First to arrive, first to attack! Please!" the mysterious girl said softly.
Hearing that, Bertram shot forward like an arrow, fists clenched tight, swinging like hammers.
From a distance, the school master watched and counted their moves.
"This young man's attacks are even fiercer than last time, and his judgment is sharper!" the master said.
He wasn't surprised the mysterious girl had improved a lot, but seeing this boy, who came just to be a sparring partner, also be so skilled amazed him.
The first fifty moves passed with no real danger.
But at the fifty-first move, the girl's whole attitude shifted.
Here it comes! Bertram thought.
Suddenly, she looked like a different person.
Her eyes blazed with fighting spirit, and her speed jumped by almost a third on every move.
Bertram had seen this before and called it the "battle stance."
Now in battle stance, the mysterious girl was way stronger than before.
Last time, Bertram could only last ten moves before losing.
Facing her battle stance, Bertram kept his rhythm steady.
Silver threads shot from his fingers, weaving through the air like three thin silver snakes.
"Have your abilities advanced?" The girl paused, a faint smile appearing on her lips, her eyes shining with even more fighting spirit.
Bertram controlled the silver threads in his hands, sparkling like diamonds, reflecting light into the girl's eyes, making her squint slightly.
Then, three silver threads aimed straight for the girl's vital points.
As they got closer, the girl didn't even bother to look. She clenched her fists and struck at the threads.
The silver threads had crazy cutting power, easily slicing through steel.
How could normal flesh and blood stand against them?
Just as Bertram thought this, it felt like an invisible aura surrounded the girl's fists. When this aura hit Bertram's silver threads, it was like the threads got stuck in quicksand.
With a few precise punches, the girl deflected all three silver threads.
Around her, it felt like an impenetrable barrier had formed.
Bertram's face showed pure shock.
Without even seeing, she could sense exactly where every silver thread was. Her fists gathered a strange energy that made even the sharpest threads unable to cut through.
Just how strong was this mysterious girl?
After stopping Bertram's attack, she lunged forward, her fists aiming straight at him.
Bertram quickly pulled back the silver threads, weaving them into a web-like shield with himself in the middle.
The girl's eyes were filled with nothing but fighting spirit.
She didn't hesitate against Bertram's complicated web and swung her fists again.
This time, Bertram clearly felt a special energy in her punches, like the spirit of a cicada.
When her fists hit the silver threads, each one got pushed back.
Eventually, she opened a path right in front of Bertram.
Her cicada-powered fists struck Bertram's midsection.
Just as Bertram thought he'd get slammed hard, he realized the cicada energy had turned super gentle, only pushing him back a few steps.
She was controlling her strength on purpose?
"What kind of punch is that?" Bertram asked, clearly shocked.
"Autumn Cicada Fist," the mysterious girl said calmly, slowly pulling her hands back.
"Autumn Cicada Fist?" Bertram was surprised.
In Doomsday City, many martial arts came from beings of other worlds. Some were famous, but Bertram had never heard of this girl's technique.
"There are 76 moves in total. The first 50 are basic techniques. From move 50 to 70, you unlock your fighting spirit. From move 70 on, you unleash the Autumn Cicada Fist!" The dojo master walked over and explained to the mysterious girl.
"Alright, as per our deal, that's 3,100 Dawn Coins. You can choose to take the Dawn Coins!"
Take the Dawn Coins? That meant there were other choices?
"What if I don't want the Dawn Coins...?"
"I can teach you the Autumn Cicada Fist!" the mysterious girl offered.
"Great, I want the Autumn Cicada Fist!" Bertram didn't hesitate for a second.
Even a fool would know what to pick.
The dojo master looked a bit surprised at the mysterious girl.
"Watch carefully!" With that, the mysterious girl stepped to the center of the training ground and began demonstrating the Autumn Cicada Fist.
Starting with the opening stance, a cicada-like aura wrapped around her fists. As she moved, a steady flow of energy spread out.
By the time she finished, Bertram was almost hypnotized.
Unfortunately, maybe because of his limited martial arts talent, Bertram could only remember about 30% of the technique.
"Alright, I'm leaving now. Next time, remember to schedule ahead!" The mysterious girl finished her demonstration and left quickly.
In the golden sunlight, her figure slowly faded away.
Just like when she first came.